Feed-regulator.



' UNITED STATES PATENT onirica.

' mechanism illustrated in FRANK H. HEADEN, -OIll EAST ST. LOUIS, ILLINOIS.

FEED-REGULATOR.

'.Specication of Letters Patent. Application sled November 29, 1909. serial No. 530,425.

Patented July 1, 1911.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK H. HEADEN, a citizen of the United States, residin at East St. Louis, in the county of St. C air and State of Illinois, have 'invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feed-Regulators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a feed regulator.

` The main object of the invention is to provide a .feed regulator in which the f low of material will be automatically and accurately regulated by the'weight ofthe descending material upon an endless yielding carrier which in turn controls the feed gate or outlet. This' object I attain by the the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of a feed regulator containing my improvements; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on line A-B, Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a detail elevation of one of the feed gates and its opera-ting gear- 1n -glhe framework of the machine is in the form of a substantially rectangular hopper or casing 1, closed at its sides and inclined ends, provided across its middle with an A.

- shaped guard or partition 20, and provided therebelow with asimilar wider partition 1a. Between the lower edges of the partition 1a and the ends-of the hopper or casing are the outlets 26, 26, for the material being fed. TheV ends of the hopper or casing, 1, are provided with feed gate supports 21 to be hereinafter referred to.-

' In its `preferred form; the feed regulator i's illustrated as double with two oppositely moving endless feeders or carriers'and as these are alike, a detailed description of one will suffice. Each endles's feeder or carrier comprises apair of shafts 6, 6, both provided with a pair of 'sprocket wheels 7 ,.7, around which passes the endless feeder or carrier in the vform of connected links or chains 4, certain of which links? are pro` vided with lugs screws or bolts 29, the ends of the cross slats or `flights 28 which feed the material along the table or board 5. This ltable or board 5 is pivoted near its outer end at 25 belowfthe gate support 21, to the hopper or casing, 1, and at the inner end is provided with bearings 8 which rest upon the shaft 6. The carriers or feeders to ether with their tables 5 form the bottom o the hopper and also feed 31, to which are secured by the material therefrom. The shafts 6, 6, are both journaled in `vertically sliding boxes or bearin 9, mounted to slide in guide ways or s ots 11, in the sides of hopper, 1, below the opposite edges of the guard 20. The boxes or bearings 9, are yieldingly supported by the springs, 10, 10, as shown 1n Fig. 1. The outer shafts 6, 6, are journaled in horizontally adjust-able bearings 9a provided with adjusting screws 12, 12, by means of which the tautness of the endless carriers or feeders 4, 4, may be adjusted.

The several shafts are provided with belt driven pulleys 27 and the upper runs of the endless carriers move outwardly to feed the material in opposite direction toward the ends of the hopper 1.

The vertically sliding gates 24 are mounted on thesupports 21, above the delivery ends of the feeders 4, and are provided with racks 24 engaged by inions 22, on transverse rock shafts 23. gne end of each shaft 23 carries a pointer 18, operatin over a scale 19, and an oppositely projecting actuating arm `17 The arms 17, of the two shafts 23, are connected by links 16, with the outer ends of longitudinally extending levers 15, pivoted at 30, to plates 14, and pivotally connected at their inner shorter ends to the upper ends of the yielding boxes 9, 9, so that as the boxes. 9, 9, together with the inner ends of the endless carriers 4, 4, move down and up a like movement will be imparted to the gates 24, 24, throughthe lever mechanism and pinions 22 just described.

Doors 3, 3, are provided in the ends of the hopper above the discharge ends of the endless feeders 4 to allow the ow of the material to be observed. A. second air of doors 2, 2, are hinged at their lower e ges to swing inwardly at their u per edges under the discharge end ofthe elts, so that portions of the material being fedmay be withdrawn from time to time for observation.

1. A feed regulator comprising a hopper orl casing provided with a feed gate, a vertif 'callyyielding horizontally disposed carrier forming the bottom of the hopper or casing and feeding the material toward the ate, and operativeconnections between the yielding carrier and the feed gate for adjusting the latter. f

2. A feedre lator comprising a hopper' or casing provi ed with a feed gate, avertically yielding horizontally disposed lendless carrier forming yielding carrier ing the latter.

3. A feed regulator comprising a hopper or casing provided with a feed gate, a vertically yielding horizontally disposed endless carrier pivoted near its discharge end below the gate and forming the bottom of the hopper, and operative connections between the inner free end gate for actuating the latter.

4. A feed regulator comprising a hopper having a feed gate, a yielding feeder in the hopper on which the material rests, means for actuating the feeder by which the material is positively fed past the gate, and operative 4connecti tuating means between the feeder and the gate whereby the weight of material on the feeder will cause it to actuate and control the gate.

5. A feed regulator comprising a hopper having a vertically movable feed gate, a' shaft and'gearing for actuating the gate, a pointer on one end of the shaft, a scale therefor, an endless charge end under the gate and yieldingly supported at it connected at one end with the yielding end of the carrier and operatively connected at its opposite end to the gate actuating shaft. 6. A feed regulator comprising a hopper, 'feed gates at opposite ends of the hopper, oppositely operating endless carriers eX- tending from the middle of the hopper with their discharge ends under the said gates; said carriers being yieldingly supported at their inner ends to yield under the weight of the material, a guard over the inner ends of the carriers, and Ioperative connections between the yielding ends of the carriers and the said feed gates for controlling the latter. 7. A feed regulator comprising a hopper provided at one end with a feed gate having operating gearing, an endless carrier forme of links and cross slats, shafts having sprocket wheels; theJ inner shaft being supported to yield vertically, a table within the carrier, pivoted at its outer end and supported at the inner end on said yielding shaft, and a lever mechanism'actuated from the yielding end of said carrier and operatively connected to the gate gearing.

FRANK H. HEADEN.

the bottom of the hopper or and thefeed gate for actuatof the carrier and the said ons independent of said ac- Witnesses:

THoMAs V. FANSHER, CHAS. E. REID.

carrier extending at its diss opposite end, and allever 

